Lemon-Lime Possets
I’m a sucker for British terminology. (And really, any words – food-related or not – spoken with a British accent.) I’m sure it has nothing to do with my current (late!) obsession with Downton Abbey, and trying to catch up late at night when everyone else is asleep. This morning I couldn’t take it any longer and baked myself a batch of currant scones to nibble with coffee whilst finishing season 3.
Last night I cooked dinner for 20 in the CBC studio – it was a meal auctioned off at a fundraiser, and we had friends from Heritage Park and a few familiar CBC voices around the table. I cooked upstairs in the wee cafeteria kitchen, and made vast quantities (enough for the night crew in the news room too) of Ina Garten’s Indonesian ginger chicken (success!) and Vietnamese fried rice and Szechuan green beans, and for dessert, Meyer lemon and Key lime possets with toasted coconut shortbread alongside. (I was wooed by a pile of Meyer lemons at the store last week, and had a bag of Key limes for warm honey drinks to ward off my cold. When you’re presenting a menu on a printed-out card on each place setting as a sort of mental amuse-bouche, the more adjectives you have to work with, the better.)
I was totally lured in by the word posset… maybe because it sounds like the dessert version of poppet, the ultimate term of endearment-slash-pudding. In real life (read: not my head) posset refers to an old English drink of hot milk curdled with ale (yuk), and it’s likely the curdled part that bridges these two, but let’s not think about curdled milk here. These wee pots are perfectly smooth, similar to crème brûlée and pot de crème and panna cotta (French and Italian, respectively) yet not baked nor jelled. The cream and sugar are heated together then combined with lemon and lime juice, cooled and chilled, and some sort of magic happens that turns them into soft, creamy pud reminiscent of Key lime pie. The citrus reacts with the milk and allows it to set. If you’ve ever made Key lime pie, the same thing happens when you mix canned sweetened condensed milk and lime juice.
The process truly cannot be any easier, nor tastier. These are divine. Perfectly set and smooth, with no risk of scrambled egginess nor settled, undissolved gelatin. The taste is pure and clean, whether you use lemons and limes with fancy names or the regular ones you might already have in the fridge – and other winter citrus might be just as delicious. The tastiest science experiment I’ve ever done.
Meyer Lemon & Key Lime Possets
AuthorJulieBring the cream and sugar to boil over medium-high heat, then cook for 3 minutes, stirring it with a whisk, turning the heat down or lifting the pot from the burner as it tries to boil over.
Remove from heat and stir in the lemon and lime juice and let it sit for 5 minutes or so to cool a bit. Stir again and divide among six 1/2-cup ramekins or small dishes. Cover (or not) and chill for an hour or two, until set.
Ingredients
Directions
Bring the cream and sugar to boil over medium-high heat, then cook for 3 minutes, stirring it with a whisk, turning the heat down or lifting the pot from the burner as it tries to boil over.
Remove from heat and stir in the lemon and lime juice and let it sit for 5 minutes or so to cool a bit. Stir again and divide among six 1/2-cup ramekins or small dishes. Cover (or not) and chill for an hour or two, until set.
These look wonderful!
Ever since I heard the word posset when referring to these desserts, I always wondered what they were like. But when you mention panna cotta and the like, and I look at the ingredients, I can pretty much imagine what they taste like – and they sound delicious 😀
With only four ingredients involved, I reckon I might just try my hands on these. Well done on cooking for so many people by the way! Hats off to you 🙂 x
I’ve always loved the science experiment aspect of key lime pie…almost as much as I love eating it. 😉 This looks like another tasty experiment I’ll have to try after checking out the citrus aisle at the store.
This sounds wonderful! I always find myself thinking and talking with a british accent after I watch Downton, I just get sucked in to all of it!
Not just any British accent, darling. I simply had to notice you have quite a posh accent, really. You must tell me, did you go to Sloane?
Possets! How brilliant! Mrs. Patmore would be so proud! I bought some blood oranges at Sunterra the other day, and I know what to do with them now. I hope my science experiment will be successful as well, but I imagine I will have to adjust the sugar. Deni
Blood oranges would be amazing – but I’m not sure they’re acidic enough – maybe with lemon? Let me know how it goes – the colour would be gorgeous!
Yum! I am going to have to make these!
These look delicious….. and really appealing to me…. as I try to avoid recipes for desserts with the sweetened condensed milk crap that contains HFCS. This is just wonderful real food ingredients! Thank you!
Well these luscious little pudding-esque treats look too simple and wonderful not to try. I love citrus desserts too!
Isn’t it so magical how this works? I developed a no-bake “cheesecake” using this posset technique when I worked at Boxwood, except we added goat cheese as well. So good and so simple!
Hmm, we also refer to babies regurgitating milk as posseting, and that sounds even less appealing than the milk/ale combo 😉
This does sound lovely though, even if I will have to mentally rename it as with all possets!
Oh gosh, this sounds divine!
Haha I definitely started reading your post in a British accent. This sounds like dairy magic!! Crazy cool.
I just made some, with blood orange and lemon and lime juices. They’re such a pretty pastel pink color, I’m waiting very impatiently for them to set but the taste test was promising.
I love British accent! And I love Meyer lemons, have a whole bag, so possets it will be! Thank you
Yum, these sound and look amazing! I’m British and have actually never made posset at home- will have to try it soon..:)
These look wonderful. I too am obsessed with Downton Abbey and find myself on Monday morning making sticky toffee puddings and toad-in-a-hole. Check out my recipe if you are interested!
http://fictionalkitchen.wordpress.com/2013/10/21/toad-in-a-hole/
I love Posset, make it frequently. I should watch Downton Abbey, not sure why I don’t, I guess I already watch far too much! One other UK food I love are Fatty Cakes, Welsh I think and so yummy. Sorry I don’t have a link for them handy but the good ole Google shall provide
Dang! I only have 18% (coffee) cream. Think it would work?
I was just talking last night about making lemon or lime curd, but these just changed my mind. Thanks for the perfect timing on this post! They look delicious.
This was easy to make and delicious! I served it with fresh berries. Easy, peasy! 1/3 -1/2 cup portions seemed plenty, as it was rich.